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Lyn Bailey – Life by Design

Category: Working Mums

  • Why Don’t I Finish What I Start?

    Why Don’t I Finish What I Start?

    Why Don’t I Finish What I Start?

    Maybe you’re reading this article as you are about to abandon the twelfth project you’ve started and left unfinished in the last three months. Maybe you’ve never been able to finish something you’ve always wanted to complete. Either way, there are reasons you don’t finish what you start, and it may not be for the reasons you think.

    Procrastination

    The number one reason you probably aren’t finishing what you start is that you are probably procrastinating. To solve your procrastination habit, you need to know why you are procrastinating. Are you constantly being distracted by other tasks? Do you harbor a fear that you won’t like working on your project? Once you get to the bottom of your reasons for procrastination, you’ll better be able to combat it and conquer it. Then you’ll be able to work more on the project you want to finish.

    Lethargy

    Another reason you may not be finishing what you start is that you suffer from feelings of lethargy. Lethargy is when you have no energy because you have lost enthusiasm for the task at hand. You might have lost enthusiasm because you’ve been working on the task too long and procrastinating, as mentioned above. You feel that you are unappreciated for your efforts. You can conquer lethargy by breaking tasks into much smaller pieces and rewarding yourself along the way.

    You Overestimated Yourself or the Project

    When you start something new, you are often fueled by excitement, and this may lead you to misjudge a project and the work it will take on your end to complete it. Then, during the project, you may realize you don’t have the capabilities or time to finish what you started. The best way to solve this problem is to be more realistic while planning a project. Make sure you carefully lay out your entire plan to see the project more clearly and solve future issues before they occur.

    Overall, finishing all the projects you start is difficult, but this doesn’t mean you should give up so easily. Instead, work to find the reasons behind your procrastination and lethargy and work to solve them. You can also boost yourself by considering every project you start more in-depth at the beginning of the project. Pretty soon, you’ll be well on your way to finishing that one project you’ve just never gotten around to.

    What have you started and not finished? If you would like some help in getting back on track with this project then click HERE to book a FREE Discovery Call with me.

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  • How Finishing What You Start Can Change Your Life

    How Finishing What You Start Can Change Your Life

    How Finishing What You Start Can Change Your Life

     

    If you constantly leave unfinished projects by the wayside, you know all too well how it feels not to finish a task. But the truth is, you can’t accomplish anything if you never finish what you start. It’s time for you to learn how to finish tasks because finishing tasks can change your life in several beneficial ways.

    You’ll Find You Have More Career Options

    No one wants to hire an employee who doesn’t finish projects or often leaves them partially complete. Once you demonstrate that you can finish projects every time they are assigned, you’ll find that you receive more promotions and other career paths open to you that weren’t there before.

     You Will Feel More Relaxed

    Leaving unfinished projects in your life creates anxiety in your mind whether you realize this or not. When you begin to finish projects instead of leaving them undone, you’ll find that you feel much more peaceful and less anxious about the world around you. This will have profound effects on your mood and your relationships with others in your life.

    You Will Feel Success

    People often undermine the power of feeling successful. It really is a feeling which puts you on top of the world. Once you feel successful in one task, it will spill over into all your other tasks. This momentum will propel you to be more successful in your life. All from just finishing one task.

    You Will Be Ready For Your Future

    With the feelings of success that come from finishing what you start, you will also enjoy feelings of preparedness. Feeling more prepared will make you feel ready to face the future ahead. Future changes and projects will seem less scary and easier to accomplish, paving the way for future tasks for you to finish with ease.

    Finishing what you start is not an easy task, but once you get the ball rolling and truly get yourself to complete tasks, you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the benefits which follow. You’ll not only have more options in your life, but you’ll also feel more emotionally at peace with these options. And don’t forget you’ll also feel success, which will keep you on the road to achieving your dreams.

    What have you started and not finished? If you would like some help in getting back on track with this project then click HERE to book a FREE Discovery Call with me.

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  • 5 Essential Tips to Finish What You Start

    5 Essential Tips to Finish What You Start

    5 Essential Tips to Finish What You Start

    Do you struggle to finish projects? Are you currently struggling with a specific project (or ten) in your life that you can’t seem to finish? Let me guess, do you have more than a few household tasks on your to-do list?

    Don’t worry – you aren’t alone. Many people struggle to follow through on their tasks. Here are five essential tips to help you finish what you’ve started.

    1. Make A Plan

    First and foremost, the number one way to finish everything you start is by making a plan before you start. A well-thought-out plan ensures you will be aware of the work your project requires and have an idea of how you will proceed. It is also a good time to break the project into smaller chunks to make it easier to conquer. Don’t forget to take some time to brainstorm potential problems you may encounter along the way.

    1. Take A Break

    If you feel overstressed at some point during your project, and it leads to other negative feelings like frustration, it’s okay to take a break. A break is a great way to refresh both your body and mind. Get hydrated, move around, find some time to take in the present world around you.

    1. Identify Your Distractions

    Maybe you’re finding every reason under the sun not to work on your project. It’s time to identify these distractions and how they may be affecting you. If the distraction is easily removed, remove it. If it’s more of a mental distraction, it may be time to look into something like meditation to help you clear your mind. Whatever your distractions are, it’s time to identify and eliminate them so you can focus on your goal.

    1. Track Your Progress

    Many projects remain unfinished because they are long, and you lose sight of the end goal somewhere in the middle. To maintain motivation, you need to track your progress on the goal as you go. You may even want to consider rewarding yourself for a job well done at certain points to maintain your motivation.

    1. Visualise The End

    Even if you are tracking your project, you may find that you’ve lost sight of your end goal. This is why you should frequently spend time visualizsing your end goal in your mind. It will help you remember why you are working on your goal in the first place.

    Finishing what you start is never easy, but if you follow these five essential tips, you may find that you can finish it with ease the next time you start a project.

    If you struggle to finish what you start, click HERE for a FREE Discovery Call to find out how to complete your projects.

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  • 3 Steps to Finish What You Start

    3 Steps to Finish What You Start

    3 Steps to Finish What You Start

    Do you often struggle to finish the projects you start, even when you have every intention of finishing them?

    Believe it or not, this is a common problem that most people face. Luckily, you can follow a few steps to ensure that you can become the type of person who finishes a project once you start it.

    1. Make A Plan

    The first step to finishing a task is making sure you have a plan at the beginning. It needs to be a plan which you write down. A mental note isn’t worth the piece of paper it is written on. You may want to jump in and start something in your excitement, but you might not realize all the work and challenges you will face. When you take the time to make a plan, this will better prepare you for the task at hand, and you’ll be able to spot problems much more easily.

    1. Take A Break

    If you find yourself getting overly frustrated or beginning to loathe the project because you’ve been working on it for so long, it’s okay to take a short break. This break will help reset your mind and focus. You might even be able to solve some of the problems you are facing while you take this little breather. Just make sure that when you set an endpoint to your break, this way you can hold yourself to it and not just abandon the project.

    1. Make Small Goals and Rewards For Yourself

    As you plan how you will conquer your task or project, break your goal into smaller mini-goals. Then, cross them off and reward yourself as you complete them. It will help keep you on task, and you’ll be able to feel as if you are making progress, even if it’s small.  This progress will do wonders to keep your spirits high while working on the project. The little rewards you are giving yourself will probably help too.

    So next time you get excited about a new project or goal in your life, slow down a bit and make a plan, complete with smaller goals and rewards for yourself. Then, as you pursue the project, don’t be afraid to take small breaks if you need to recuperate. Chances are, thanks to these three steps, you will be much more likely to finish your new goal than leave it abandoned.

    If you struggle to finish what you start, click HERE for a FREE Discovery Call to find out how to complete your projects.

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  • Five Reasons You Need a Personal Development Plan

    Five Reasons You Need a Personal Development Plan

    A personal development plan is like a roadmap. It assists you in finding your purpose and developing your strengths. It also gives you the confidence needed to get out of your comfort zone. A good personal development plan will also help you improve your self-awareness. This combination will ensure that you know your potential and live up to it with intention.

    Discover Your Purpose

    On the road to self-discovery, most people want to know why they are here. If you want to know your purpose in life, focus on your personal development and create a written personal development plan to help you find it.

    As you discover what makes you think the way you do, challenge your thoughts, and decide what facts you’ll use to make sound decisions. When you do this, you may come across additional information that will lead you to closer to your purpose. You are more likely to feel good about the ideas you have and actions you take each day because you know they will have a particular impact.

    Develop Your Strengths

    Once you discover your strengths as you study yourself and pay close attention to how you feel about your actions, you’ll know what to develop. Focusing on what you are already good at is always preferable to focus on where you are lacking.

    Getting additional training, practicing, and learning from others regarding the things you’re already good at doing is a much more pleasurable and successful way to approach your life. You’re naturally good at something that gives you joy and makes you better. So, you may as well use your natural gifts.

    Get Out of Your Comfort Zone

    While you do want to focus on what you are already good at doing, sometimes it takes time to see what that is. Getting out of your comfort zone has nothing to do with forcing yourself to focus on things you aren’t good at doing. Instead, it may mean simply showing someone else what you’re good at.

    Boost Your Confidence

    As you develop yourself, you’ll start experiencing success, and that experience will boost your confidence exponentially. Part of personal development is focusing on learning to have a positive mindset, taking the best care of yourself, and reveling in your skills and experience. When your confidence is strong, you’ll free yourself from paralyzing self-doubt and negative thoughts and emotions. You can’t help but become strong when you craft and follow a plan based on self-discovery and your goals.

    Improve Your Self-Awareness

    Since personal development is all about you, getting to know who you are is especially important. Knowing who you are will allow you to know and lead with your strengths so that you can cope with your weaknesses, realistically and kindly, without lying to yourself or others about who you are. Self-awareness is the ultimate precursor to authenticity.

    You also need a personal development plan because you’re much more likely to succeed at anything when you have a plan. A personal development plan is a documented set of facts and information to help guide and direct you through the actions and habits that make up your life. For example, if you want to succeed at any dream, it starts with a goal. Then, through smart goal setting, your goals become a plan that you can follow, track, and even change throughout your life while remaining focused on your ultimate dreams and goals.

    As the are now in our second quarter of the year, if you want to find out how a personal development plan can help you live a happier life, then click HERE to book a strategy session for just $49.00!

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  • Live a Happier Life

    Live a Happier Life

    How to Shift Your Perspective to Live a Happier Life

    Drama, stress, and other challenging obstacles or situations will always be a natural part of your life. It is highly unlikely you can avoid them altogether, but you can control how they affect or take over your life.

    A change in perspective can be a driving force in allowing you to live an easier and happier life. Of course, this is easier to talk about than to really do, but with a few simple ideas and actions, you can make a change for the better that sustains your lifelong happiness and success.

    The following are some common techniques to help shift your perspective to ultimately live a happier life:

     Only Focus on What You Can Control

    The notion of what you can and cannot control is by far the most important concept to understand and live by. Other people’s actions, thoughts, and opinions will never be something you can fully gain control of. You might be able to guide and influence them for a little, but this won’t be sustainable or achievable in all aspects of life. However, you do have the ability to control your attitude, efforts, and emotions.

     Switch Dread Around

    Instead of focusing on the negativity or harmful aspects of the situation, find ways to reverse it. Instead of dreading it, find areas you can appreciate or learn from. Highlight the lesson or knowledge you gained.

    For example, maybe you failed the live presentation you worked hard on for months. While it’s okay and normal to feel disappointed, don’t allow those feelings to take over your life completely. Instead, acknowledge the areas that went wrong and use that newfound information to do even better the next time.

    Ditch The “All or Nothing” Mindset 

    Stop expecting the worst or creating expectations that are too high for yourself. Even if you don’t achieve every single step, you will become discouraged if you only focus on the things you can’t or won’t have versus all the things you do have, worked hard to get, and eventually will get in the future.

     It’s important to note that happiness is personal and something that must be found within. You must work towards it and actively seek or make changes when needed to achieve it. Get out and experiment more, be true to yourself, and always try to stay positive by acknowledging reality and where you fit into it.

    As the first quarter of the year is almost over, if you want to find out how you can live a happier life for the next quarter, then click HERE to book a strategy session for just $49.00!

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  • 7 Questions To Ask When You Think You’re Procrastinating

    7 Questions To Ask When You Think You’re Procrastinating

     

    Do you sometimes find yourself making that second cup of coffee instead of taking action to get you moving towards your desired outcome? If so, you are not alone. I have done just that this morning. My intention was to get this blog written and published today. I had set myself a schedule to do this from 9-10.30am. So, what did I do at 9am? I made myself a cup of coffee, then decided to read  some emails, did some Facebook posts, chatted to a friend I finished my coffee, then decided to make a second one. I realised that I was procrastinating. Why was I doing this? I asked myself the first question below.Is writing a blog exciting enough to get me out of my comfy chair to sit at my desk, The answer was NO. So I asked myself what would make writing a blog my exciting for me. The answer that came up for me was this. “I am writing this blog to help those people who are holding themselves back from achieving their full potential, so that they can start to take action to turn their dreams into reality and make this the best, most successful and productive year of their lives.” Now, I am excited to be sitting at my desk writing this blog post starting at 10.30 with enthusiasm and gratitude.

    If you struggle with procrastination, you know the detrimental effects it can have on goal achievement. But instead of beating yourself up for failing to get going, consider a different approach. Here are seven questions that will help you overcome procrastination and achieve higher levels of success.

    1- Do your goals excite you?

    First, ask whether your goals excite you. You may think you’re procrastinating when the problem is you’re not motivated.

    There are tasks we all have to complete daily. Not all of them are thrilling. But if your goal is to finish your book by the end of the year, for example, and you find yourself struggling to get going? Consider that the problem may be that you lack passion for the project itself, not your overall drive.

    To remedy this, think of other tasks in your life. Are you generally unable to get going? Or is it with just one or two things that you find dull and boring?

    Perhaps you need new goals.

    2- Are you healthy?

    Next, ask yourself if you’ve taken care of your health. It’s much easier to find the energy to work on long-term goals when you’re eating nutritious foods, drinking enough water, and getting enough daily exercise.

    On the other hand, if you’ve got too many poor habits like drinking too much alcohol, remaining sedentary, and eating poorly, your issue could be your health.

    If you can improve your health and wellness routine, do so. See if that helps give you enough energy to avoid procrastination.

    3- What could you get done if you quit procrastinating?

    Third, it’s time to daydream for a second. Think of all the juicy details behind what you might be able to accomplish if you quit procrastinating.

    Could you finally have that dream body you’ve been craving? Might you get that promotion at work? Will you, at last, start your side business?

    Sometimes all you need is a gentle reminder of how good life is on the other side of effort.

    4- Can you reframe it as an opportunity?

    Next, you may find it useful to reframe the situation. Let’s say you dread going to the gym. Could you think of how lucky you are to have such an opportunity, instead of thinking of the negative?

    How fantastic is it that you have the funds to afford a gym membership? How grateful are you that you have a healthy enough body to move around, run, lift, stretch, and sweat? Isn’t it outstanding that even if you’re busy, you can make the time to engage in self-care practices such as this?

    It’s not that you “have to” go to the gym. It’s that you “get to” go to the gym.

    5- Are you overcommitted?

    Beyond that, consider that you may have too much on your plate. Burnout is a real thing. And if left unchecked, it can cause you to lose productivity when you’d otherwise be on top of things.

    Ask yourself if you’re procrastinating or if you don’t have the time or resources you need to get everything done.

    6- What’s essential and what can wait?

    Along similar lines, you might want to do a brain dump of all your responsibilities. Laying it all in front of you will help you determine what’s essential and what can wait. Sometimes if you want to get going, you have to trim the fat. Much of what we pressure ourselves to complete is just busywork. Eliminate the non-essentials and see if your productivity improves.

    7- What’s your reward?

    Finally, make sure you have a healthy reward system in place to meet your goals. While goal-achievement is rewarding, knowing there’s an even brighter light at the end of the tunnel may prove motivating.

    We spend much time bashing ourselves for mistakes and shortcomings. It’s important to celebrate our wins, too.

    Final Thoughts

    Sometimes procrastination can get the better of you, but things aren’t always what they seem. The next time you worry about your productivity level, ask yourself these seven questions. You may discover a quick solution to your problem.

    If you need  help in changing any of these in your life right now, book  a FREE 30 minute Strategy Session HERE.

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  • 12 Tips for Nurturing Your Personal Freedom

    12 Tips for Nurturing Your Personal Freedom

    When we have been hurt, it’s very easy to feel that life is not fair. I remember when my marriage broke up after 34 years, I felt a lot of hurt, emotional pain and resentment after my husband left me for another woman. It took me a long time to get over these feelings. Eventually, I started to realise that I was 100% responsible for how I felt, which meant I had a choice in any given moment. I could choose to feel the hurt and pain, or I could choose to feel grateful for the 34 years we had shared, and, specifically, grateful for the 4 beautiful children we had brought into the world and the joy I feel every day being a mum.

     

    It made me realise that all I needed to do was to nurture my own personal freedom, rather than letting someone else have control over that freedom.

     

    If you want to take back control over your freedom, here are 12 tips to get you started.

     

    12 Tips for Nurturing Your Personal Freedom

     

    There’s a lot of pressure to conform to society’s definition of success. Right from school, you hear that there is pretty much one path. A good job, a one-way upwards career trajectory, a family, big house, lots of money. But your personal freedom doesn’t get mentioned. Nor does inner peace. But you don’t have to step too far outside your regular life to allow space for greater contentment, and freedom from the anxieties and pressures of modern life.

     

    There are some key things you can do right now to nurture your personal freedom and achieve greater contentment with your life.

     

    1. Let go of past hurts and sufferings, acknowledging what you have learned along the way.
    2. Believe in your heart that you deserve love and good things in your life and that you wish these for the other people in your life.
    3. Act kindly in your interactions with other people, whether it’s friends, family, colleagues or the person you walk past in the street. People will remember how you treated them long after they have forgotten your words.
    4. Be kind to yourself and acknowledge that you mostly do the best you can. And when you make a mistake, you learn from it and do better.
    5. Acknowledge that you have control only over your actions and reactions. You can’t control other people, but you can control how you respond to them.
    6. Own your past mistakes but do not let them define you.
    7. Be at peace with change and accept that it is part of the ebb and flow of life.
    8. Set goals to achieve what you want out of life but be flexible and prepared to adapt to changing circumstances.
    9. Don’t compare your life to others, especially as they present themselves on social media. People always display their best sides and rarely acknowledge weakness or when things are going badly.
    10. Choose to be compassionate. Most people are trying to do their best most of the time.
    11. Be grateful for where you are, and what you have right now. Don’t get caught up in a dissatisfaction loop where the other guy’s life looks better. Chances are you are already living an abundant life.
    12. Learn to relax and allow things to be, rather than try to second guess all the time. Adopt the Buddhist philosophy of detachment, breathe, and let go of anxiety. Allow and trust that the Universe will give you what you need.
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  • How Living in the Now Leads to Inner Peace

    How Living in the Now Leads to Inner Peace

    Peace is something that many people are missing in their lives. You don’t have to live that way. When you live in the now, it can lead to inner peace. You can find the calm that you’re looking for.

    Start by dialing it back. You don’t have to be everything to everyone. You don’t have to be available all the time and you don’t have to let social media rule your day. Give yourself limits to how much time you’ll give things or people that drain you.

    Next, make a date with relaxation. This might mean listening to music, using visualization, or meditation. It might mean taking off for an afternoon to do nothing but just relax.

    While you’re at it, don’t use a wide-angle view of your life. When you look at everything at once, it can create inner panic. This can happen with both bad things or good things.

    Ask yourself how important the situation is on a scale of one to ten. Then ask yourself if what’s happening will still be important to you a year down the road. This will help you keep your perspective, no matter what happens.

    Another way to find inner peace is to stop rushing. When you’re in a hurry, it affects your outlook and creates stress. Take your time as you go through your day. Be present when you eat, laugh, and love. When you stop the rush, you’ll find that inner peace blooms.

    Next, beware of the things that own you. When you have too much stuff, you waste your peace trying to take care of it and you end up letting your things encroach your space. When your home or office is filled with things that nag at your mind, it creates mental chaos and steals peace. Let go of things you don’t need or want.

    If you struggle to release an object, consider taking a photo of it. Then you can keep the photo but let go of the object. Remind yourself as you do this that you’re giving a second life to the object by passing it on to someone else to be loved and cared for.

    The final way to keep your inner peace is to focus on a “this moment” mantra in your mind. When thoughts about what you should do in the future crop up and you get that tight feeling in your stomach, say to yourself, “I only have to deal with this moment.”

    A Better, More Successful Life Can Be Yours

    Living in the moment might feel difficult at first. That’s only because it’s a new thing and sometimes, new things feel scary. Just like learning to ride a bicycle, it gets easier the more you do it. If you keep trying, you’ll be putting your hands up and enjoying the ride in no time at all!

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  • How to become Resilient Through Mindfulness

    How to become Resilient Through Mindfulness

    How to Become Resilient through Mindfulness

     

    The first way to become resilient through mindfulness is to refuse to see a problem as unending. When problems or negative situations occur in your life, don’t fall into the trap of believing that they’re going to last forever. This lets a hopeless mindset develop.

     

    When you have problems, they can sometimes interfere with your life plans or impede your goals. However, you shouldn’t give up and quit going after what you want. If you do that, you’re effectively saying that your problems are bigger than your ability to overcome them.

     

    Develop the mindset of “this is temporary.” List ways or action steps that you can take to overcome the situation. Next, embrace change. If there’s one guarantee in life it’s that is that no two days are the same.

     

    You might plan to live in the city then you lose your job and the opportunity that opened up for you is on the other coast. When you embrace change, you’re open to opportunities even though they may not always appear in the way you hoped they would.

     

    The third way to become resilient is to refuse to sit still. When you want something in life or you have a dream, don’t allow inaction to take it from you. Every day, do something that takes you closer to achieving your goal.

     

    If your goal is to own your own business, this might be something like signing up for a business class or writing out a business plan. If you want to get healthier, it could be something simple such as getting rid of the food in your house that causes you to binge eat.

     

    The next thing you should do is make decisions sooner rather than later. Avoidance doesn’t solve issues and it doesn’t get you where you need to be. If there’s a relationship issue, you need to handle, do it. If you’re interested in talking to someone, make a move and speak up.

     

    While you’re making decisions, resolve to change your self-view. Many people think far less of themselves than they should. You downplay your accomplishments. You look at the negative things about yourself by thinking you’re too awkward, too big, or too small.

    You don’t like the way you look, the way you voice sounds. However, by learning how to think of yourself in a positive way, you bolster not only your self-esteem but your belief that you can achieve whatever you set your mind to.

     

    Finally, negative things happen, look for the positive. There’s always something good to find about everything that happens. However, the problem is that most people focus on the negative and then miss the good. That’s not to say that everything that comes into your life will feel good but it can work out for your good.

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